For thousands of years, one clandestine organisation has been rumoured to control the destinies of men, cities, even nations: Freemasonry. Often traced back to the stonemason guilds of the Middle Ages, Freemasons were supposedly to be found among all the great minds of the Renaissance, including Da Vinci. The Freemasons have claimed such illustrious personages as Mozart, Benjamin Franklin, Darwin, FDR, Churchill, W.C. Fields, Herbert Hoover, and many others as members. Even today, Freemasonry boasts Masonic lodges all over the globe. "The "Everything" Freemasons Book" examines all the aspects of this fascinating organisation, including: myths, legends, and stories of this ancient order - what's true and what's not; the closely guarded secret rituals, symbols, and esoteric arts; the freemasons' enemies - from the Catholic Church to the Nazis; and, the many controversies surrounding this secret society - past and present.

From the corsairs of the Barbary Coast to Blackbeard to Jean Lafitte, pirates have been a part of every culture for centuries. Sometimes terrifying but always colourful characters, their history is as rich with controversy as it is with gold dubloons! With each passing decade, the legends surrounding pirates have grown to epic proportion, right down to their peglegs and buried treasure. "The Everything[registered] Pirate Book" follows their historic travails from ancient times to their Golden Age to the modern day search for buried treasure, and reveals the truth behind the Hollywood type.